Next up for Arsenal is a top-of-the-table clash at home to Chelsea a week today and Wenger said: “If we can’t pick ourselves up by being top of the league, what will happen when we’re not top of the league?

“Let’s not go overboard, it’s a massive disappointment because we lost a big game, but no matter what happens over the weekend we’re still top.

“And what’s important now is how we respond to that. It’s not the end of the world but it’s a big disappointment. You come into a big game, everybody wants to play big games, you have an opportunity to show how good you are and when you don’t it’s a disappointment.

“It’s a concern to concede six because we had a strong defensive record, but honestly we could have scored six or eight as well.

“Both teams were very poor defensively, but City were much more efficient. We made too many mistakes and did not have our usual defensive solidarity.”

On the clash between Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker, when the latter berated his fellow countryman for not applauding their fans at the end, Wenger said: “Mertesacker is a leader. They perhaps may have some differences, they can sort that out in German.”